Characteristics of the Ability of Physics Concept in Enrichment Teaching Materials of Natural and Mineral Resources (NMRs) Literacy

This study is aimed at describing the characteristics of basic physics concepts in materials of science literacy enrichment of natural and mineral resources (NMRs) prepared by students of Physics Education Department, Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung. The method of data collection for scientific literacy ability of NMRs is obtained from the description of NMRs, results of describing the enrichment materials of NMRs process, the basic concepts of physics, and context as well as attitudes of students towards NMRs through paper enrichment materials. This study was conducted to 15 documents of enrichment materials made by students. The study concluded that: (1) characteristics of students\u27 ability to describe the physics concepts in literacy enrichment materials NMRs show variation; (2) the ability of describing concept of fundamental physics in five NMRs groups being investigated shows a low gains. The study recommends that the application of material needs developing and teaching media literacy enrichment and physical sciences should have more contextual NMRs for secondary, high school and undergraduate students

Advanced breakup-nucleon enhancement of deuteron-induced reaction cross sections

Following the EUROfusion PPPT-programme action for an advanced modeling approach of deuteron-induced reaction cross sections, as well as specific data evaluations in addition of the TENDL files, an assessment of the details and corresponding outcome for the latter option of TALYS for the breakup model has been carried out. The breakup enhancement obtained in the meantime within computer code TALYS, by using the evaluated nucleon-induced reaction data of TENDL-2019, is particularly concerned. Discussion of the corresponding results, for deuteron-induced reactions on $^{58}$Ni, $^{96}$Zr, and $^{231}$Pa target nuclei up to 200 MeV incident energy, includes limitations still existing with reference to the direct-reaction account

Runoff and discharge pathways of microplastics into freshwater ecosystems: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Although many studies have focused on the importance of littering and (or) illegal dumping as a source of plastic pollution to freshwater, other relevant pathways should be considered, including wastewater, stormwater runoff, industrial effluent/runoff, and agricultural runoff. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis focused on these four pathways. We quantified the number of studies, amount and characteristics of microplastics reported, and the methods used to sample and measure microplastics from each pathway. Overall, we found 121 studies relevant to our criteria, published from 2014 to 2020. Of these, 54 (45%) quantified and characterized microplastics in discharge pathways. Although most focused on wastewater treatment plant effluent (85%), microplastic concentrations were highest in stormwater runoff (0.009 to 3862 particles/L). Morphologies of particles varied among pathways and sampling methods. For example, stormwater runoff was the only pathway with rubbery particles. When assessing methods, our analysis suggested that water filtered through a finer (\u3c200 um) mesh and of a smaller volume (e.g., 6 L) captured more particles, and with a slightly greater morphological diversity. Overall, our meta-analysis suggested that all four pathways bring microplastics into freshwater ecosystems, and further research is necessary to inform the best methods for monitoring and to better understand hydrologic patterns that can inform local mitigation

Propagation of nuclear data uncertainties for ELECTRA burn-up calculations

The European Lead-Cooled Training Reactor (ELECTRA) has been proposed as a training reactor for fast systems within the Swedish nuclear program. It is a low-power fast reactor cooled by pure liquid lead. In this work, we propagate the uncertainties in Pu-239 transport data to uncertainties in the fuel inventory of ELECTRA during the reactor life using the Total Monte Carlo approach (TMC). Within the TENDL project the nuclear models input parameters were randomized within their uncertainties and 740 Pu-239 nuclear data libraries were generated. These libraries are used as inputs to reactor codes, in our case SERPENT, to perform uncertainty analysis of nuclear reactor inventory during burn-up. The uncertainty in the inventory determines uncertainties in: the long-term radio-toxicity, the decay heat, the evolution of reactivity parameters, gas pressure and volatile fission product content. In this work, a methodology called fast TMC is utilized, which reduces the overall calculation time. The uncertainty in the long-term radiotoxicity, decay heat, gas pressure and volatile fission products were found to be insignificant. However, the uncertainty of some minor actinides were observed to be rather large and therefore their impact on multiple recycling should be investigated further. It was also found that, criticality benchmarks can be used to reduce inventory uncertainties due to nuclear data. Further studies are needed to include fission yield uncertainties, more isotopes, and a larger set of benchmarks.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, Proc. 2013 International Conference on Nuclear Data for Science & Technology (ND2013), March 4-8, 2013, New York, USA, to be published in Nuclear Data Sheet

Prevalence of microplastics and anthropogenic debris within a deep-sea food web

Microplastic particles (\u3c5 mm) are ubiquitous throughout global marine ecosystems, including the deep sea. Ingestion of microplastics and other anthropogenic microparticles is reported in diverse marine taxa across trophic levels. Trophic transfer, or the movement of microplastics across trophic levels, is reported in laboratory studies but not yet widely measured in marine food webs. The Monterey Bay submarine canyon ecosystem contains a well-studied, known deep-sea food web in which to examine the trophic fate of microplastics. We measured microplastic abundance across 17 genera spanning approximately 5 trophic levels and a diversity of feeding behaviors. Samples were collected using remotely operated vehicles and oblique midwater trawls, and gut contents of all individuals examined (n = 157) were analyzed for microplastic abundance and other anthropogenic particles greater than 100 μm using stereo microscopy. Microparticles were analyzed with Raman spectroscopy to confirm material type. Anthropogenic particles were found in all genera examined, across crustacean, fish, mollusk, and gelatinous organisms, in amounts ranging from 0 to 24 particles per individual. There was no significant relationship between microplastic amount and fish trophic level, suggesting that the trophic transfer of microparticles is not occurring. Body size was positively correlated with microplastic abundance across all taxa. The fish genus Scomber sp. drove this relationship, suggesting higher microparticle abundance in mobile individuals with broad horizontal distributions. Future work should examine physiological pathways for microplastic transport within organisms (e.g. excretion, accumulation on gills, internal translocation of particles) and between organisms within shared habitats to more fully understand the fate of microplastics within aquatic food webs

Hospital nurse staffing: Choice of measure matters

BACKGROUND: Researchers frequently use nurse staffing measures to examine hospital quality of care. Measure choices include nurse-reported perception of staffing adequacy, nurse-reported patient workloads, and empirically derived hours per patient day (HPPD). OBJECTIVE: To examine the correlations across these measures and identify factors associated with these staffing measures. DESIGN, SETTINGS, AND SUBJECTS: A cross-sectional correlational study of 92 medical-surgical, rehabilitation, and intermediate in 11 acute care hospitals was carried out. METHODS: We surveyed registered nurses on their perceived staffing adequacy, last shift patient workload, and unit-level structures and processes of care delivery. Individual responses to these measures were aggregated to the nursing unit level, and unit-level HPPD, unit-level case mix index were obtained from each hospital's administrative data. After examining the correlation matrix across variables, those associated with the 3 staffing measures were then examined using linear regression. RESULTS: HPPD and the nurse-reported patient workload on last shift were correlated (r=-0.276, P=0.008), and perceptions of the adequacy of staffing and nurse-reported patient workload on last shift were correlated (r=-0.384, P=0.000). In multivariable analyses, inadequate numbers of assistive personnel was significantly associated with both perceived staffing adequacy and nurse-reported patient loads. Unit-level case mix index was significantly associated with both HPPD and nurse-reported patient loads. These data suggest that the 3 measures of nurse staffing are not highly correlated, and may capture different elements of the unit context to explain nurse staffing. Researchers should consider the correlates of these measures when selecting nurse staffing measures for future investigations.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/94113/1/Hospital nurse staffing Choice of measure matters.pd

A Horizon Scan of research priorities to inform policies aimed at reducing the harm of plastic pollution to biota

Plastic pollution in the oceans is a priority environmental issue. The recent increase in research on the topic, coupled with growing public awareness, has catalyzed policymakers around the world to identify and implement solutions that minimize the harm caused by plastic pollution. To aid and coordinate these efforts, we surveyed experts with scientific experience identified through their peer-reviewed publications. We asked experts about the most pressing research questions relating to how biota interact with plastic pollution that in turn can inform policy decisions and research agendas to best contribute to understanding and reducing the harm of plastic pollution to biota. We used a modified Horizon Scan method that first used a subgroup of experts to generate 46 research questions on aquatic biota and plastics, and then conducted an online survey of researchers globally to prioritize questions in terms of their importance to inform policy development. One hundred and fifteen experts from 29 countries ranked research questions in six themes. The questions were ranked by urgency, indicating which research should be addressed immediately, which can be addressed later, and which are of limited relevance to inform action on plastics as an environmental pollutant. We found that questions relating to the following four themes were the most commonly top-ranked research priorities: (i) sources, circulation and distribution of plastics, (ii) type of harm from plastics, (iii) detection of ingested plastics and the associated problems, and (iv) related economies and policy to ingested plastics. While there are many research questions on the topic of impacts of plastic pollution on biota that could be funded and investigated, our results focus collective priorities in terms of research that experts believe will inform effective policy and on-the-ground conservation.© 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Measurement of the Average Energy and Multiplicity of Prompt-Fission-Neutrons from 238U(n,f) and 237 Np(n,f) from 1 to 200 MeV.

Taking advantage of the neutron source of the LANCSE, it has been possible to obtain a measure of the velocity distribution and the number of prompt-neutrons emitted in the neutron-induced fission of {sup 238}U and {sup 237}Np over a broad incident neutron energy range. The mean kinetic energy was extracted and is shown as the function of the incident-neutron energy. We confirm here the observation, for both reactions, of a dip around the second chance fission which is explained by the lower kinetic energy of the pre-fission neutrons. Such a observation is reproduced by Los Alamos model as implemented at Bruyeres le Chatel and by the Maslov model. As far as the neutron multiplicity is concerned, a similar dip is observed. However, such a behavior is not present in data measured by other groups